41 6 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



When, however, the famous dam which raised the water to the level 

 of the land was partially destroyed and the water returned to its 

 original channel, the cultivation had to be abandoned. 



Some attempt is being made at the present time to improve and 

 reopen the road between the Karoon and Ispahan, to be used at least as 

 a caravan route, and thus shorten the time and diminish the expense 

 of transport between the Persian Gulf and the central and the 

 northern central markets. So long as Russia imposes a prohibitive 

 transit duty on all goods but her own for the Persian trade, the 

 southern route seems the best for the introduction of foreign mer- 

 chandise, even as far north as Teheran. 



The average cost of transport is about 12 cents a ton per mile, 

 and the distance from Bushire to Teheran is generally estimated to 

 be 800 miles. Caravans of mules, camels, horses, and asses ordi- 

 narily travel about 16 or 20 miles a day, taking one or two days' 

 rest at each large town en route. 



ARTHUR S. HARDY, 



TEHERAN, February 2, 1899. Consul- General. 



APPENDIX. 



There are no firms, either foreign or native, which make stationery 

 the sole articles of their trade. Most of the paper for postal pur- 

 poses, consisting of the quarto and octavo, is brought from Con- 

 stantinople for the Teheran market, and nearly all by native traders. 



If paper manufacturers desire to communicate with dealers in 

 Persia with the object of trading, they can rely upon the following 

 as men of business and straightforward traders: 



Messrs. Zeigler & Co., Teheran. 



Messrs. J. P. Hotz & Son, Teheran. 



The manager of the Toko, Teheran. 



The manager of the Comptoir Francaise, Teheran. 



Hajie Mohammad Ismail, Timeha Sadr Azem. 



The latter is a native. 



The total imports of stationery, according to English consular 

 reports, appear at the value of $30,505. These, however, do not 

 cover the whole country, and the figure which would be near the 

 mark would be about $50,000. The ordinary rough material, of 

 home manufacture, probably amounts to about $5,000, making a 

 total consumption of $55,000. 



No books or publications of any kind exist on the trade of paper 

 making. The people engaged in all kinds of handicraft arc nearly 

 all illiterate. This, however, would not make any difference regard- 

 ing an organ to represent trade interests, for those who carry on any 

 craft would not divulge the secrets of their trade. 



